


The Legend of the Uchihas

by athylia



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Japanese Culture, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, a bit twisting of myth here and there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-08
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-09-07 07:56:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8789794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/athylia/pseuds/athylia
Summary: Past the outer part of Konoha and deep into the heart of the mountain lies the Uchiha Compound. In here, legend, myth, and reality converges together and makes up a place that is Konoha but still not quite part of it.





	

The Legend of the Uchihas

**Deep into the Woods**

“Ami, this is not a good idea.” Sakura reminds the other girl for what seems to be the nth time.

“Having a failing grade is not a good idea.” Ami retorts before turning back to filming the houses. Sakura wants to throttle this girl so badly right now but her words do make sense. The pink haired girl needs all the credits she can get and that is the only reason why she wants to stay with Ami even. If given the chance, she would’ve complained and whined but she knows that she needs this grade.

 _This is a bad idea_ ¸ she thinks as a shiver makes its way down her spine, cementing her fears on this place. To think that this used to be filled with people and children, it becomes kind of difficult to imagine when all she can practically see are empty houses and trees. Though it seems empty, Sakura knows that there is something in this compound, and that something might not be human.

“Ami, can’t we just choose the Valley of the End like everyone else? Like a normal person?”

The brunette gives her a withering look. “The Valley of the End is too typical. Besides, don’t you want to get high marks? If we present this, we’re the only unique ones!”

A groan leaves her mouth as her warnings remain unheard in Ami’s ears. If she didn’t need this grade badly, she would’ve ditched her a long time ago. She then imagines her teacher, who decided that putting her and Ami in the same group, is a good idea erupting in flames, making her silently rejoice. At least in her mind she can do things her way. Every step she makes in this compound is shaking and hesitant. This whole place practically screams of ‘supernatural’ and that naive girl doesn’t even notice it.

 _Calm down Sakura, remember, not everyone can see ghosts and other creatures like you do,_ she tells herself and continues on walking until they finally arrive at the main house.

The main house is much, much bigger than any of the other houses they passed by outside. There is a wooden gate that separates this house from the others in the compound and she imagines how it would have looked like hundreds of years ago, when the house was still inhabited by people. What probably used to be a pond has now dried up which is what to be expected since this is an old and abandoned house. Abundant green trees and plants, their leaves dancing and swaying to the wind, welcome them as they walk to the main entrance. The main Uchiha house exudes an eerie and mystical but awe-inspiring aura that people can’t help but be attracted to like moths to flames.

Something shines in the ground and catches the pink haired girl’s eyes and that is when she finally realizes it. _Someone else is in here,_ she immediately concludes upon finally seeing the silver coin. That’s why the grass doesn’t reach their knees, when it should be considering that no one comes here anymore for the last century. Those plants shouldn’t look healthy and well taken care of _at all_. The realization makes Sakura’s heart pound against her chest and fear take over her thoughts. They’re not dealing with a ghost here; they’re dealing with a _human_ instead.

“Ami, Ami, let’s go, let’s leave!” She hurriedly says, her voice gaining more volume.

Ami scrunches her nose and shakes her head. “No way Forehead, we’re finally here though.”

“Don’t you think we should at least wait for Aone-kun and the others to come?” She tries again to persuade the other girl to leave because _kami-sama_ did she just she something move there?!

“If they want to be included in the group, they should’ve come earlier,” the brunette scoffs and takes another step closer to the entrance, making Sakura more nervous. “Now let’s go in.”

Her eyes widen as she sees a blur of black move towards the other girl. She pushes Ami back; the _thing_ ends up shoving her instead, making her trip on the stairs and fall inside the house. The one thought that enters her mind is _oh shit_ as the doors slide shut, covering the dark haired man hovering over the brunette.

Shivers literally run up her spine and her hairs at her skin stand up. _Something is definitely out of the ordinary here_ , she thinks as she pounds on the door and tries to ignore her shaking feet. She can feel _something_ oozing out of this house and it is not in any way good. She stiffens when she feels that someone is behind her and the last thing that she sees is the red and white colors of the uchiwa fan.

~

Sakura wakes up with a pounding head, her body sore and in an entirely different room. She stands up and runs to the door and slides it opens, revealing another room with three more shoji. She continues to run through the doors only to end up in the same damn room. After her sixth time she finds herself in the same place again, she finally opens a door that leads to the gardens outside, much to her joy.

But her joy turns into horror when she comes face to face with a person she has become familiar to through her history books, Uchiha Madara. His eyes turn to her with fury as he tightens his hold on his weapon, a gigantic uchiwa fan and darts to where she is now. She immediately scampers, a scream leaving her mouth.

“N-No! Don’t!”

“Kai!”

“Calm down, you’re safe.” A voice tells her, and just like that, the world she is in now dissolves like paint on water, showing a whole new world she is unaware of.

She can’t stop her voice from shaking as she hugs her knees. “W-Who are you?!”

The man in front of her frowns and he waves his hands in front of her, annoying her even more. She glares at him as he continues to observe her like a mouse in a lab. She’s gritting her teeth now when he places his hand at the top of her head and pokes her forehead. _Does this guy not understand the concept of personal space?_ She mentally asks herself and tries not to smack this guy.

“You’re human,” he states and tilts his head sideways curiously. “But you can see me.”

“Of course I’m human and I can—oh,” she trails off, now understanding the situation. “You’re...not human.”

“I am not,” he then smirks and stands up and that is when she realizes that she is lying on the grass and that this is definitely not the Uchiha main house. “I suppose that humans aren’t _that_ annoying and foolish.”

She bristles at the comment and immediately sits up. Ghost or not, he has no right to insult them considering the fact that he was once a human too. She wants to tell him that but hesitates because there is something in the way he holds himself and talks that tells her that this man isn’t a ghost. _Besides, is there even a ghost this sinfully handsome?_ Her inner conscious asks her and she can’t help but flush red at the question.

“Human, follow me. Your friend is here.”  She perks up at that, stands up and follows him. She frowns when she sees trees everywhere and she concludes that they are deep into the mountain, which is not that much of a problem with her. Sakura has grown up in the outer part of Fire country, far from the hustle and bustle of the city folks. The mountains, bugs, flowers, and plants are the friends she grew up with instead of dolls, phones and make-ups. Her grandmother used to tell her of stories of when she went up the mountain and apparently talked to the spirits that wander there, not just the human spirits but also the spirits that guard the mountain and their village from intruders and people who have bad intentions regarding them. She supposes that is probably the reason why human spirits don’t bother her that much anymore.

“The brown haired girl is unconscious,” she snaps out of her thought when he says that. “But I have already given her medicine to relieve the lingering headaches.”

Sakura takes a deep breath and takes her chances in asking him the question. “You’re not human.”

“Haven’t we already established that?”

“But you’re not a ghost either?”

“Hn. I should feel insulted.”

“What are you then?” she finally asks, her patience wearing thin.

That smirk graces his lips again and it should be a crime to be that good looking. “You are an intelligent human. So guess. I might just give you a reward if you do so.”

That’s the last thing she hears before she falls unconscious again. The next time she wakes up, they are nowhere near the Uchiha compound and are on the concrete ground, their other group mates hovering over them with concerned eyes. Her head hurts a little whenever she tries to think of it but she is definitely sure that they weren’t here before and that they are supposed to be somewhere else.

~

The next weeks pass by without incident but Sakura can’t help but feel attracted to that mountain near the outer part of Konoha. _It feels like it’s calling to me_ , she thinks with furrowed eyebrows as she tries to focus on the lesson in front of her instead of the mountain. She purses her lips when she sees her grade at their documentary about the Valley of the End. After the incident, their parents had scolded them and forbidden them from going back there again. _Ami is right, we should’ve done something less common,_ she laments and sulks. She doesn’t want to admit that Ami was right but the thing is Ami _was_ right.

“Bye Sakura!” says Ino.

She waves back with a smile and continues to her path home. Something happened in the mountain, something important and yet she can’t remember it. There is something niggling her to go to it and find out but she knows that going up there alone is dangerous, no matter how many times she has went up on their village’s mountain. And yet here she is now, standing in the first step of the stairs leading up to it.

Something magical, mystical beckons to her to come closer, _closer, and faster_ and that is exactly what she does. Soon, she finds herself running and out of breath as she continues to run _runrun_. But her run slowly turns into a jog when she notices that the trees around her are much taller than before and than normal and it’s either she’s shrinking or everything around her is just getting more enormous. Her surroundings get darker and darker with her every step and when she turns, the trees shoot out to the sky abnormally high.

“Where am I?” she whispers, her voice stricken with dread and a whimper leaves her mouth when she hears the bush behind her rustle.  

She grits her teeth and grabs a twig from the ground and holds it in front of her protectively as if it could fend off whatever creature might be in there. “Don’t come any closer!”

A loud shriek echoes the place once the ground shakes, resulting to her falling down. She nervously raises her head and she lets out a gasp when her eyes fall on a large giant toad— _a toad!—_ wearing some sort of blue vest and carrying a _kiseru_ pipe. She scrambles to hide behind a tree but unfortunately, is still seen by the creature.

“A human...” It says with its booming voice that makes her shudder at the mere sound of it.

Sakura takes a deep breath before breaking into a sprint away from the place and almost makes it to the other side but the toad leaps and blocks the way. Her heart is hammering, leaving her breathless and wheezing for air and her legs are practically screaming at her to take a rest. But no matter how much she wants to do that, she can’t, not with this creature in front of her which may or may not desire her as its dinner.

“Where do you think you’re going human?” the toad asks her and lifts its pipe to its mouth.

Her hands are shaking—scratch that, her whole body is shaking and she’s sure that she’s at her wits end at what to do and how to leave this damn place. “I-I-I...I’m extremely small! I won’t satisfy your appetite!” She slaps a hand on her mouth after she says it. Damn her, damn her big mouth.

“Creatures in this part of the mountain don’t like to eat humans,” it scoffs and puffs of smoke leave its mouth and Sakura is somehow reminded of the caterpillar in the story her mama once told her. “Contrary to popular belief, humans don’t taste good considering with all the preservatives you eat. We like to eat natural and healthy foods.”

She does not know whether to be amazed at the fact that the creatures in the mountain know about preservatives and such or dumbfounded that they actually follow a diet. She’s probably feeling both. “If that is so then...do you know how can I leave?”

It scratches its chin and eyes her dubiously. “Humans aren’t supposed to be in here at all nor are they supposed to see us, how did you get in here? This part of the mountain is protected by a strong barrier that separates our world from yours. If you want to leave, then retrace your steps and go home.”

“That’s the problem,” she replies and fidgets uncomfortably at the attention it is giving her. “I don’t know how I got in here. I was just walking on my way home and the next thing I know, I’m running in here. It’s like...something is calling me.”

She stiffens when it leans down and inspects her closely. She wills her hands not to shake in front of it but fails for most part because a giant toad staring you down is very terrifying, if she has to be honest. She yelps in surprise when large webbed hands suddenly grab her and suddenly, it leaps into the sky and the cold night wind greets her face. Wherever or whatever this place is, it is beautiful with the way stars of different sizes litter the heavens, twinkling brightly. They are so high above the ground that she feels like she could touch the stars and take it.

A confused frown mars her face when she sees the buildings and houses she is familiar with. _It’s like Konoha_ , she thinks, _but not quite it_ _either_. She knows because seeing Konoha makes her feel warm and bubbly on the inside. It is because seeing Konoha is the feelig and scent of that miso soup her grandmother makes, the wonderful taste of the dango the old man near her home sells and it is the feeling of coming home after a long journey. But she cannot feel that as she stares at it. It looks exactly like Konoha but something at the deep of her heart is telling her that it is not.  

“You have his mark,” it suddenly comments, startling her. “You have met him before. And he has given you his mark.”

She does not know what it is talking about but replies out of respect and politeness, “Is that a bad thing?”

“Not necessarily, no,” it says but halts and continues again. “At least not for me and my clan but for others, I am not sure of.”

“Where will you be taking me?” she asks.

“I’m taking you to him. If my hunch is right, then he is the reason that you are very attracted to this mountain and why you managed to get inside here.”

“If you don’t mind me asking again,” she hesitates a bit but upon seeing it give a nod, she continues. “What are you? W-Who is this ‘he’? Where am I?”

It hums for a few seconds and smirks. “I’m Gamabunta, a yokai. One of the most powerful one and I belong to one of the most powerful clan of yokai. We serve our gama sennin and that is all you need to know. For the ‘he’ part...the one I am talking about is one of the gods residing in this mountain. He is a minor god, but do not underestimate him for he is a strong and powerful one too. It’s a pity he is chained down by the same thing that he protects with his life.”

~

Their peaceful and quiet travel is interrupted when the world beneath them trembles, lightning crackles in the sky and bird yokais fly out of the mountain, squawking and screeching while doing so. Gamabunta lands on the ground, in hopes of it being safer than the air but then a herd of animal spirits run towards their direction, trapping them in place. A tanto suddenly materializes in the toad yokai’s hands and Sakura slides down from his head to stop him.

“Don’t!” she yells at him. “They’re just doing what any other animals do in instinct when sensing danger!”

Gamabunta purses its lips for a moment before smirking. “You’re a very weird human, I’ll give you that, worrying about the spirits rather than your life. But don’t worry, I won’t hurt them. My tanto is not for innocent spirits, isn’t that right...Madara?”

She lets out an audible gasp upon hearing the name and then a blue, transparent, flaming giant emerges from the dark, wielding a sword. She climbs back up the toad’s head again and braces herself for the fight. She sees Gamabunta’s hands clenching the sword tightly and that’s when she knows that this yokai is no ordinary one.

“Hold on tight human,” it tells her before falling into a fighting stance. “Madara, you have truly become greedier compared to the last time I have seen you. How many mountain spirits and yokais have you consumed to be able to get Susanoo’s form?! How many have you slain for your tomfoolery?!”

“Gamabunta, it is a pleasure to see you again,” she then notices that there is a man inside the giant. “This time, I will make sure to kill you.”

“You have said that for the several times we have clashed and yet here I am.”

“Just you wait until I manage to capture the great kitsune, and soon, I’ll be even stronger than the _Ohoyamatsumi_ has ever been.” She has heard of rumors saying that Uchiha Madara was clinically insane or something along the lines but only now did she believe them. Seeing this man—is he still a man?—laugh as he narrates his plan to covet power and be the strongest, it only cements her belief on him being crazy.

She suppresses a whimper when Gamabunta dashes forward quickly to clash swords with the giant. She then closes her eyes, hoping that this is all a weird dream and that she’ll wake up soon and she’s not actually riding a giant toad’s head while he’s fighting a giant blue man. A quick peek at the situation tells her that this _is_ reality no matter how absurd it seems.

It is raining hard, the ground becomes muddy and thunder roars while lightning crackles. Despite him not being Susanoo himself, just by taking his form Madara has become as ferocious and terrifying as the storm god himself. _At this rate, I’ll lose_ , Gamabunta thinks as it intercepts an incoming attack, _I’ll have to retreat._

So it does just the thing and jumps hundreds of feet in the air and away from the power crazed man. It hates to leave Madara by himself to hoard and consume more spirits but it would do them no good either should Madara consume _him_. They land in front of _his_ dwelling and Gamabunta promptly collapses due to the wounds inflicted on it.

Sakura slides down its head and tries to wake it up but it does not even stir. “Help! Anybody! Please!” She continues to scream for a good few minutes and is about to give up when someone steps out of the shadows.

“You again?” the man says and frowns when his eyes land on the giant unconscious toad. “What happened to Gamabunta?”

“T-There’ this man, an insane one, with a blue giant as his armor, h-he’s wrecking everything in that direction. Gamabunta said that he’s devouring innocent spirits and yokais even.” Sakura explains hurriedly.

“Ah, he’s back then,” He simply replies and makes some sort of noise. “I have already called its son, Gamakichi will come to pick him up and heal him.”

“Thank goodness.”

He then grabs her arm and forces her to look at him. “What are you doing in this part of the mountain? Humans aren’t supposed to see gods, yokais, spirits and ghosts, yet you have no problem communicating to them. Human’s aren’t supposed to be here either.”

“That’s what I would like to know too!” she responds. “This mountain...it beckons to me, it’s like it is calling to me to come. No, I’m not kidding. I was literally on my way home but then I kind of woke up and here I am in the heart of the mountain.”

The dark haired man thinks for a minute before circling her with scrutinizing eyes. Sakura curls her hands into a loose fist, getting more and more uncomfortable by the minute. _What is it with these people and looking at me?_ She thinks and internally curses them. _Well you are a stranger; you’re in their territory right now and these are creatures that are usually protective of their territory._

“You have something of mine.” He suddenly says, startling her out of her thoughts.

“Yours?” She echoes. She doesn’t remember having anything like of his. Heck, she doesn’t even know who he is. Sakura has never seen him before in her entire life up until now.

“A coin, I probably dropped it this morning in my haste.”

She looks at him uncertainly and rummages her bag and pockets for any coins. She them shows him all the coins she had found. The man picks out the silver coin and lets her see it fully. Her eyes widen when she sees the uchiwa fan embossed on the silver coin, the emblem of the Uchiha clan, a once strong and mighty clan that eventually fell.

“This is the uchiwa,” she states and touches the coin on his palm. “Are you by any chance related to the Uchihas?”

His fingers twitch, and his dark eyes glaze over for a moment before he replies, “I’m not sure. I don’t know,” He closes his palm, effectively trapping her hand in his, and looks away. “All I know is that the spirits and weaker and younger yokais in this area call me Hebi.”

“Hebi isn’t your real name,” she blurts out. She gasps and covers her mouth with both hands. “I’m so sorry; I didn’t mean to be disrespectful.”

“What makes you think that Hebi isn’t my real name?” he asks her, curious and at the same time amused at her sudden exclamation.

She fiddles with the ends of her skirt and tries to push down the blush that overtakes her face. “It just...Hebi doesn’t suit you. I think that you’re meant for more, for a stronger name.”

Silence ensues between them and Sakura doesn’t know how to make this anymore easier or less weird. Today has been weird enough already and she doesn’t want for things to get weird too with a god of the mountain. She expects him to lash out, to yell or to kill her at worst but he does none of those. He does not even glare at her or give her the stink eye and that makes her ponder at what kind of god this one is.

“Perhaps Hebi isn’t really my name ,” he says and then lets go of her hand and she mentally smacks herself at missing the warmth of his hand. “But you may call me that for now. At least until I find out what my name is.”

“Um, okay. Hebi-san, I was wondering if you can help me get back to my world,” she finally says to him. “I am sure that my parents are worried sick, they might send the police to look for me.”

“Hn. Follow me then.”

Sakura does not know where they are right now but it looks stunning. The trees stand tall with their luscious green leaves and the flowers dance to the direction of the wind, the motion adding to the charm and beauty of the colourful and animated flora. The fishes in the pond are also aplenty and lively, creating ripples everywhere they move. But the one thing that stands out the most is the traditional Japanese house standing in front of her.

She has a feeling that she has been here before, that she knows this place and that there is something bad at this place and yet she feels wonderful standing in front of it right now. With its surroundings, the house doesn’t look much of a scary one like she first thought...

“I’ve been here haven’t I?”

He lets out a small ‘Hn’ to convey his agreement with the other. She shrieks when she sees a Madara Uchiha suddenly charging after her, his sword in hand and positioned to kill her mercilessly. The man snaps his fingers and Madara fades away like dust with the wind.

“That was merely an illusion, Madara cannot harm you in this realm,” He tells her reassuringly. “That was a simple kitsune trick; other beings in this mountain can generate more frightening illusions, ones that can make you feel pain worse than death itself and there are also ones that can make you feel satisfaction to the point that you do not want to go back to reality.”

She walks faster to catch up to him and grabs the sleeve of his kimono when a ghost suddenly materializes beside her. “This mountain is inhabited by gods, yokais and many more of such status. I somewhat expected that such chilling individuals exist. But it is still beautiful, the mountain I mean.”

“Why exactly did you fall in love with this mountain?” he asks and locks eyes with her green ones. “A part of me isn’t with you anymore. You should feel like a normal human again.”

“Just because you took away a material thing that belongs to you from me does not mean you’re not a part of me anymore,” she answers unabashedly, her tone confident. “And there is nothing wrong in loving a mountain, is there not?”

His eyes widen a bit at her words but then he chuckles, the deep and smooth baritone of his voice doing things to her heart. She flushes a bit at the wonderfully sinful sound and coughs to hide the growing red of her face.

 “I suppose there is not, human, but you do need to go back to your world.” With a wave of his hand in front of her face, the pink haired woman collapses.

~

The police find her asleep at the bottom of the stairs, the same way her group mates found her weeks ago. Her parents are extremely worried sick but nevertheless thankful that their daughter has finally been found. After that incident, Sakura finds herself always surrounded by her friends, as if they are guarding her. Ino stays by her side all the time, goes to her house, walks to school with her and walks her home. She knows that they’re just apprehensive considering what happened to her but she feels suffocated with what they’re doing.  Her mother is especially anxious, more so than she should be.

“Mom, can you just _please_ stop it?” she confronts her one day. “I understand where you’re coming from it’s just that...it’s _too much_.”

Her mother sighs and turns to her daughter. “Honey, we’re just being careful. We don’t want you to get abducted again. Thank Kami that the person didn’t do anything bad to you. It just so happened that this one isn’t that heartless to rape, murder or do both to you in that mountain.”

Somehow she feels the weird need to defend the place even though she knows that her mother’s reasoning is correct. There’s something in this mountain that just pulls her to it, something she can’t just shake off or ignore.

“Sure, anybody else can do those to me but I think, no I know that in this mountain, that _won’t_ happen to me.” It _can’t_ happen to me, she wants to add but she doubts that they will believe it.

“Sakura...” Mebuki heaves another sigh and lets it go. Once her daughter gets her head invested in an idea, there is no convincing her otherwise. _She gets it from her father._

Sakura manages to persuade her friends into forgetting the incident and thus, not following her around anymore. Ino takes a longer time to convince but she eventually relents. She goes to school, she chats with her friends, sneaks up the mountain, meets and chats with Gamabunta and Hebi-san and life goes on as normal. Well, as normal as that can get. Most are mildly surprised and curious how she can go on without fearing for her life or with trauma. She smiles politely at their questions and answers them honestly.

The people around her listen to her answers and gets enticed with her stories about the mountain. She tells them about the beautiful and growing flora and fauna and also about the myths and legends behind them. But the one thing that she never gets tired of telling is about the silent but kind deity who watches over the mountain and everything else that inhabits it.

“He’s quiet, he often keeps to himself. But nevertheless, past those exterior of his, Hebi is a very kind god.” She says with a wistful voice.

Tenten purses her lips and asks, “How do you know all these? The way you tell these stories seem so...surreal. It’s as if you’ve met him.”

“I have read so many books that it’s like I had already met him,” she smoothly lies. “The myths and folklore surrounding our city interests me as you can see.”

As much as Sakura wants to share to them about her ethereal experiences in the mountain, she wants to keep her meeting with Hebi-san a secret. It might seem selfish and all but she really, _really_ wants to keep it between them. And as if to compensate with this small act of selfishness, she shares more stories than ever and feeds their imaginations and daydreams. Unbeknownst to her, her stories beguile her classmates, prompting them to visit the mountain too. They make offerings and prayers and soon, the mountain is thriving with believers.

“I feel different,” He says while they’re strolling along the forest. “It’s like I’m feeling more powerful.”

“Isn’t that good?” she replies. “You’re supposed to be powerful. You’re the mountain god.”

He blinks and a frown mars his handsome face. “I’m not the mountain god. Who told you that?”

“Oh,” she says, her face turning beet red in embarrassment. “Oh Kami, I was wrong. I’m _really_ sorry Hebi-san. I told my classmates about you and how you’re the mountain god and...”

“Ah. So that’s why.”

She slowly turns to him and fidgets with the edge of her skirt nervously. “You’re not mad.”

“Not really, no. I suppose I should feel flattered that you think of me as something as powerful as a mountain god.”

“But the spirits here treat you like one though.”

“Everyone thinks differently,” He tells her before turning to face her. “You should tell your friends not to come here for a while.”

A confused frown mars her face. “Why? Is there something that is going to happen?”

“The festival is coming.”

“A festival? That sounds fun.” She perks up upon hearing it.

 “Madara might use it to wreak more havoc,” he utters. “I have to be on guard.”

“That’s exactly the reason why you should go. Isn’t it better to be in the actual festival itself and see what’s actually happening than staying back in a distance and guarding?”

He sighs and looks away from this girl’s pleading eyes. For the past few days, the girl has been visiting the mountain, talking to Gamabunta, interacting with the spirits in this mountain and talking to _him_. She is an eccentric one, he muses as he catches her arm when she stumbles upon a large log, spirits are usually afraid of him. They show fear, awe and respect towards him but never what this pink haired girl shows. Gamabunta is perhaps the closest thing he has to an acquaintance.

“Well Hebi-san?” she asks and he stares into her jade eyes wide and gleaming brightly.

~

“Oh wow! This looks exactly like a human festival Hebi-san!” She exclaims as she grabs his arm and drags him to one of the nearby stalls. She looks at him and giggles at the sight of him wearing a kitsune mask.

“You look silly in that. Why are you wearing that mask?” She stands up and makes a motion to touch it but he takes a step back.

He hesitates at first but eventually answers. “It would do no good for others to notice me. Especially since this is part of my territory.”

She looks around and her eyes widen upon noticing it. The place where the festival is being held is the Uchiha compound. The once empty and lonely place has transformed into a lively and bright one filled with mountain spirits disguising as humans. She sees some ghosts here and there too, mingling with the spirits. She notices that most of them fit the description of the Uchihas that once lived here; black hair with darker eyes and a tall and regal posture.

“There are ghosts in here.”

“Those are the ghosts of the Uchiha residents who never did get their peace.”

She heaves a sigh and nods. “Being persecuted is indeed tragic.”

“It certainly is, even more so when your own clansman did it.”

“Your own clansman?” She whips her head at his direction in surprise. “Weren’t they victimized by people from another country?”

“The Uchiha Clan was massacred by Uchiha Madara and his follower,” He replies, his voice turning cold and tight. “The man who led the clan was also the one who ended it. He exchanged his humanity and his people for greater power.”

“You mean...Uchiha Madara chose to be a yokai?” She whispers in horror. All those lives, all those people, all of them were sacrificed and just for the sake of power.

“Hn,” He nods and leads her to another stall. “A human can choose to become a yokai with proper motivation and malevolence. And now that he is one, I don’t have any doubts that he is planning to be this mountain’s god.”

Sakura stares at the goldfishes moving around in circles around the small tub. She dips her finger in it and watches as ripples form in the water. “You’d make a better mountain god.” She suddenly says and looks at him with a smile.

“What makes you say that?”

“You...You care about its inhabitants more than anyone else, even if you try to deny it—“

“Will you still be able to say that once you discover the truth about me?” He tells her and they stare at each other before a large explosion interrupts them and the festival. Suddenly, everyone is panicking and running all over the place. Most of the spirits have dropped their human forms and went back to their old ones. By now, the compound is littered with mountain spirits, yokais and ghosts, all scurrying to leave the premises.

“Ah, the Uchiha Compound,” shivers run up her spine as she hears and recognizes the voice. “I have never seen this compound teeming with life like this before.”

“Madara,” Hebi growls and drops into a fighting stance. “You are not welcome in this festival.”

“And who is to decide that?” Madara barks out a laugh that reminds Sakura of the villains she read on books. “You? I am the rightful owner of this compound. You are _beneath me_. I am a god.”

“You are not a god,” Hebi replies and unsheathes his sword. “Nor can you become the mountain god. The inhabitants of this mountain will rebel, will not accept you. There are a lot of things standing between you and your goal.”

“Seeing as how you are one of those hindrances, I _will_ eliminate you. At all cost. Let us see if you are indeed worthy to be this compound’s guardian.”

Sakura gasps as the two entities duke it out, their swords clashing against one another and their bodies moving so fast to the point that she cannot even see where Hebi or Madara is. She yelps as she feels the earth beneath her tremor and is about to duck like what she has been told to do during earthquakes when someone steps in front of her and carries her away from the destruction. The wind hits her face as they move through the trees, making her pink hair cover her sight. She does not know whether who is holding her right now is a person or not considering the amount of beings and creatures she has encountered for the past months. Upon landing, the man— _or is he?_ Sakura thinks—puts her down on the ground and she muses for a second whether this is another spirit pretending to be a human or not but that thought gets thrown away when he starts speaking.

“Sakura-chan! You should go back, the mountain isn’t safe for anyone right now,” he warns her. She tries hard not to stare at him and be reminded of Gamabunta. “Hebi will kill me if something bad happens to you.”

Sakura looks at her surroundings and see that they are indeed on the only entrance and exit of the mountain. She recognizes the _komainu_ statues but somehow they seem more feral, more alive. She wonders if it is because of Madara’s intervention. Her trail of thoughts is stopped when lightning crackles ominously in the sky, where dark clouds have already formed and rain is threatening to fall, and thunder booms. If those don’t spell trouble, then she doesn’t know what does.

“W-What’s happening?! How come natural disasters are occurring all of the sudden?” She asks the blonde.

“That’s because there are two powerful beings fighting. And that is disrupting the balance in this mountain. Madara has become too powerful to be ignored; perhaps that is what _Ohoyamatsumi_ is thinking. He can summon the form of the lightning god now, a very dangerous thing not only for the inhabitants of the mountain but also for the humans living at its foot,” he explains and she feels as if that somber voice of his does not fit him at all. “You should go now. I should go back and help Hebi, he’ll need all the support he can get.”

“I want to help but...”

“You can help by leaving this mountain right now. Even if he might not show it, Hebi actually cares a lot for you,” a small smile appears on the man’s face. “You are the source of his strength, you should know that.”

Shock is illuminated in her face. “ _Me?!_   I’ve never done anything!”

“Yes you have heard of those stories of him? They fuelled his strength. The more believers a god has, the more powerful he is. You should know that by now,” He chastises her before standing up straight. “I have to go now Sakura-chan.”

Sakura nods and watches him move through the trees as if he is flying. She still can’t believe it. Hebi draws strength from her and her stories of him, from the awed gasps of her classmates. Her eyes widen in shock as she sees the familiar form of Susanoo again on the sky but this time, there are two of them. Her shock turns into joy as she realizes that Hebi is the other Susanoo.

 _He can do it_ , she thinks as she goes down the stairs and tries not to slip because the rain is pouring heavily now. _If anyone can defeat Madara, it’s him. It’s Hebi._

She hurriedly runs back home and is greeted by her mother’s fussing and her father’s frowns. It turns out that the news said that an unexpected super typhoon has hit Konoha. The weather analysts are baffled as to how it suddenly appeared but that is not what is important right now. There are warnings of flash flood and landslides for the ones living near the mountain. They also mentioned the sudden 5.0 magnitude earthquake everyone felt a while ago.

“Kami-sama what is happening in the world?” Her mother whispers and grimaces as another round of thunder roar in the sky.

“The gods must be angry,” her father comments and puts down his newspaper. “I have never seen a storm this strong hit Konoha. While rain and the occasional storm happen here, it is usually Ame who gets the heavy rains.”

She keeps her mouth shut because what her father inferred is half true. The gods _are_ mad but it is not their doing. This is the doing of a power hungry menace named Madara.  Her mother groans when the lights suddenly turn off and that is the telltale sign that it will take quite some time before the electricity comes back up.

“Susanoo-sama must be angry.”

Sakura whips her head at her mother. “Susanoo?”

“Yes, the lightning god.” Her mother sighs and retrieves the emergency lamp, some candles, and a matchbox.

“So that’s what Susanoo is...” she whispers to herself as another lightning strike. _Be careful Hebi-san._

~

Just as the news had said, flood waters immediately rise and engulf Konoha for the next few days. A landslide happens just hours after the waters start to rise, overwhelming the residences and the local authorities. The citizens decide to flee to the set up evacuation centers and some even escape to the next town to avoid the calamities. And that is what Sakura’s parents plan to do.

“Come on now, there will be trucks that will help us get to Iwa,” Her mother says as she grabs the bags off the counter.  “Hurry up, we better leave while the rain isn’t that strong yet.”

“We’re leaving Konoha?” Sakura asks, aghast.

“Konoha isn’t safe right now, honey.” Her mother says as she drags her and her father upstairs because the waist-deep flood has already reached their house, submerging their furniture. She opens the window and they are welcomed by the strong winds and heavy rain. They manage to safely go to the truck that will pick them up despite the roof being slippery and wet.

She helplessly gazes at the mountain, mostly covered by the dark clouds and the rain, and the cold seeps in through her body, rattling her bones, despite the fact that she is now inside the truck with a blanket covering her. She can hear her parents talking to the other evacuees on how they are planning to stay in Iwa for good. Her hands pull her knees towards her chest closer because she cannot believe what they are saying. Konoha is their home. She was born here and she will live the rest of her days in here. She wants to see her friends again, wants to see Ino, Sai, Tenten, Hinata, and her classmates, but most of all, she wants to see Hebi-san again. _Hebi-san_ , she forlornly thinks and buries her head between her knees.

 _I never did get to say goodbye, did I?_ It’s not fair. It’s not fair how he has managed to capture her heart in almost a year. But that’s life. Hebi-san is practically a god, as powerful as one too, while she is merely a mortal too curious for her own good yet also too in love with the mountain and its god to leave.  Before she knows it, she is already burying her head between her knees to harshly as a way to muffle the sobs leaving her mouth. She’ll miss all of Konoha. She’ll miss its lush environment and its wonderful flora and fauna. She’ll miss the way the air smells perfectly like the mountain during five in the morning and how beautiful the sun looks when it is barely peeking and rising. She’ll miss the people she has forged bonds with and the memories they have made. She’ll miss talking to Gamabunta and interacting with the forest spirits and Hebi-san. She’ll miss Hebi-san indeed.

“Hey okaa-san? Do you have a paper and a pen?”

~

The battle is arduous and it took both their combined strength to subdue Madara. The miasma and terrible weather Madara has brought on attracted the nearby mikos and shamans, who eventually purified the human turned yokai.  The spirits are still terrified and Konoha is devastated by the flood and the landslide. Many of the trees have been uprooted due to the heavy rain and powerful wind but Hebi does not mind it since he knows that the mountain will eventually fix itself. The one thing mortals don’t know, except for the spiritually-inclined ones, is that the mountain lives and breathes.

He does not give it a thought when Sakura does not visit for the next three days since he knows that the townspeople are still recovering. But three days turn into two weeks and he starts worrying whether she has been hurt or injured or worse—no, no, he does not want to think that. But despite that thought, he sends out one of the spirits to check on her. When the spirit comes back shaking its head, he does his best to not go down there and look for her himself.

“Moron, are you sure you helped her go back to the stairs?” He asks Naruto.

“I did! Ask the komainu! They even saw it!”

Strolling through the forest in the mountain does not feel the same without the pink haired girl chattering beside him. It’s quiet, and not in the good way. He has always liked the silence but this kind of silence makes him feel like there is something missing, something wrong.

One day, a miko with dark hair and eyes that seem pupil-less approaches him with a letter in hand.

“It’s from my friend,” she tells him with a shaking voice. “I was supposed to give it to you weeks ago but something held me back. I-I’m sorry.”

She scurries off and he looks at the letter with a confused expression. His eyes widen upon reading it.

_For what it’s worth, I do love you. It was never my choice to fall in love with you. Never in my life would I foresee myself falling in love with a mountain god, okay, okay, I know you’re not a mountain god but to me you are this mountain’s god.  You’re grumpy, silent, and brooding. It also seems like your default face expression is frowning. But you’re also kind and I know that you love this mountain the most. I can see it in your eyes and in your actions when you interact with the spirits. And I do want you to know that loving you is my choice. I love you. One day, I will come back to this mountain and be reminded why I fell in love with it and with you. Until then, I will tell stories of you and the little adventures we made so that everyone will know about you and my love for you._

_Love,_

_Sakura_

**Author's Note:**

> if you are wondering if this is plagiarized, no it is not. I decided to post this from my tumblr (iwacares.tumblr.com) so no worries


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